INTRODUCTION

1. This report, submitted to the Commission of Human Rights at
its fifty­second session, contains an overview of the human
rights situation in Haiti, and the expert's recommendations subsequent
to his mission to Haiti from 23 September to 6 October
1995 and discussions he was able to hold in neighbouring countries.

2. The expert wishes to thank all those in Montreal, Port­au­Prince
and New York who assisted him in accomplishing his mission.
He is grateful to the Special Representative of the Secretary­General
for Haiti, Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi, the Resident Representative
of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Haiti and
his entire staff, as well as the Executive Director of the International
Civilian Mission in Haiti (MICIVIH), the Chief of the civilian
police forces of the United Nations Mission in Haiti (UNMIH) and
the interim director of the Division of Human Rights of MICIVIH.
He also wishes to acknowledge the close cooperation he enjoyed
with the Haitian authorities and organizations, officials of Human
Rights Watch and the National Coalition for Haitian Refugees (NCHR),
and representatives of specialized agencies in Port­au­Prince,
as well as members of the National Commission of Truth and Justice
(CNVJ).

3. At its fifty­first session, by its resolution 1995/70
the Commission on Human Rights, after considering the report of
the Special Rapporteur, Mr. Marco Tulio Bruni Celli
(E/CN.4/1995/59), requested the Secretary­General to appoint
an independent expert to have responsibility for providing assistance
to the Haitian Government in the area of human rights, to examine
the development of the situation in Haiti in that area, and to
monitor the fulfilment by Haiti of its obligations in that field.
The Commission requested the expert to submit a report to the
General Assembly at its fiftieth session and to the Commission
on Human Rights at its fifty­second session.

4. The Economic and Social Council having endorsed the request
by the Commission (decision 1995/281), the Secretary­General,
on 31 July 1995, appointed Mr. Adama Dieng as the independent
expert to study the situation of human rights in Haiti.

5. On 1 November 1995, the independent expert communicated his
report (A/50/714) to the Secretary­General. The report did
not deal with economic, social and cultural rights. The present
report does reproduce a large part of the report submitted to
the General Assembly at its fiftieth session, but it has been
updated in the light of recent events, more particularly the results
of the presidential elections on 17 December 1995, and has been
supplemented by a section on economic, social and cultural rights
(paras. 73­78).

II. THE CURRENT SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

A. Introduction

6. The return of President Jean­Bertrand Aristide in October
1994 resulted not only in a considerable improvement in the human
rights situation in Haiti, but also marked the beginning of a
major programme of institutional reform. The violations committed
for three years under the de facto military regime plunged the
country into horror, and their effects can still be felt today.
The efforts President Aristide and his Government have made over
the past year to remedy the abuses committed by the military junta
are to be commended. Nevertheless, some grey areas persist and
certain weaknesses, particularly those of the judicial system
and the police, tend to tarnish the achievements in the area of
protection of human rights.

7. Violations of human rights have diminished greatly since the
overthrow of the military regime and have given way to other forms
of violence, such as common crime, which has increased sharply.
In order to show its good faith and its desire to conform to international
human rights instruments, after an interruption during the period
of the coup d'état and the de facto government,
the Haitian Government prepared a brief report on human rights
in Haiti (CCPR/C/105) and submitted it to the Human Rights Committee
on 27 February 1995. The Committee welcomed its cooperation
with the State Party and invited it to present its initial report
under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
due 5 May 1992, by 1 April 1996 at the latest.

B. The toll of three years of military dictatorship

8. During the period of the military dictatorship, thousands of
people lost their lives; the army is responsible, either directly
or indirectly, for these deaths. For three years, summary and
extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrest,
rape, torture, and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment inflicted
by agents of the State, threats, extortion, and destruction or
confiscation of property were a part of daily life for the people.
This reign of terror caused about 100,000 Haitians to flee and
find refuge abroad, particularly at the American base at Guantanamo,
Cuba, and in the Dominican Republic. About 300,000 persons fled
Port­au­Prince in order to save their lives and went
to the interior of the country. On his return, President Aristide
found a country wounded, mistrustful and scarred by the violations
committed. Therefore, the process of rebuilding democracy will
take time.

C. The right to life

9. Human rights violations have greatly decreased. Today, the
wave of refugees fleeing the country has slowed considerably:
between October 1994 and October 1995, only 1,000 Haitians sought
refuge abroad. Violations continued to occur in the months following
the fall of the military regime. In September and October 1994,
soldiers fired on people demonstrating in support of the return
of President Aristide.

10. Certain members of the Interim Public Security Force, made
up of former soldiers and Haitian refugees recruited in the camps
on the American base at Guantanamo, have been implicated in incidents
of abuse where they allegedly questioned suspects and then killed
them. On 28 June 1995, an officer of the Security Force simply
killed a man who was running away after having been caught stealing
used clothing. Much testimony confirms that, too often, certain
officers of the Force are "trigger happy" and fire at
people with no evidence to support the claim of self­defence.
The measures taken thus far against some officers have been disciplinary
and are rarely made public. In most cases they result in suspension.
These officers have never been brought to trial. Moreover, the
new Haitian National Police Force was implicated in similar incidents
where officers fired at fleeing suspects. The Haitian Government
is investigating the incidents and, on 18 September 1995
suspended two of the members of the Police Force. In addition,
the tensions between the two Forces are not helpful in the present
context. It should be noted that the Interim Force was disbanded
by an order of 6 December 1995 issued by President Aristide.
This means that the fledgling National Police Force alone is responsible
for maintaining law and order.

11. In September 1995, UNMIH reported a number of offences, in
particular, hold­ups of cars, robbery, various incidents
of aggression, gunshot wounds, and cases of summary justice committed
by the people. In general, the murder victims are former members
of the Haitian army suspected of having committed crimes.

12. Since February 1995, 20 people have been killed by heavy weapons,
without robbery as the apparent motive. MICIVIH describes these
murders as "commando­style executions". It was
alleged that supporters of President Aristide were implicated
in those murders. However, no evidence has been produced in support
of these allegations, which were based on the fact that some of
the victims had opposed the President.

13. Furthermore, cases of summary justice have increased considerably
recently because the people lack confidence in the judicial system
in Haiti. Thus, in March 1995, 45 people were stoned and
beaten to death by crowds because they were suspected of committing
crimes. In July, 18 people were killed under the same principle
of personal "vigilante" justice. These spontaneous actions
express the reaction of the people to inept judicial procedures,
and the Government has condemned them. The judicial system was
considerably weakened, from the standpoint of both human and material
resources, during the three years of military dictatorship, and
at present, Haitians prefer to settle scores themselves rather
than having recourse to their country's judicial authorities.
In August, only eight cases of summary justice were reported;
this decrease is partly due to the support provided by the international
community, the patrols conducted by UNMIH and the Interim Public
Security Force, more numerous police actions against persons suspected
of committing crimes, and the deployment of the new Haitian National
Police.

14. The brigades de vigilance, which were established by
the people to supplement the police in controlling and curbing
crime in certain neighbourhoods, are themselves alleged to have
been involved in cases of summary justice. Yet their role is definitely
not to replace the judicial authorities. Some thought should be
given to providing training and education for such brigades.

15. The renewed violence in Haiti in November 1995 reflects the
country's current instability. The ambiguous attitude adopted
by President Aristide towards leaving office, scheduled for
February 1996, has helped to make the situation even shakier.
The President, encouraged by the support of his followers, at
one time considered extending his mandate by three years in order
to compensate for his years in exile. Yet this decision went against
the promises made to the international community and the provisions
of the Constitution which expressly forbid the outgoing President
from standing straightaway for a second term. Finally, President Aristide
has confirmed his intention of standing down in February 1996,
in keeping with the provisions of the Constitution. Again, clashes
took place in Port­au­Prince on 23 November between
the forces of law and order and people living in the shanty town
of Cité Soleil; four people were killed, including a little
girl. On the night of 11­12 December, a group of armed
civilians fired at the home of Mr. Léon Jeune,
one of the candidates in the presidential elections. There were
no victims.

16. These acts of violence are to be condemned and they are detrimental
to the whole of the population, for international donors have
displayed concern and are more reluctant to grant aid when violence
is undermining the reforms and the process of restoring the rule
of law in Haiti.

D. Cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment

17. Nowadays, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment has become
the exception, while during the military dictatorship it was the
rule. The dismantling of the Haitian armed forces, which were
primarily responsible for the large­scale human rights violations,
has led to a considerable decrease in human rights violations
and violence in Haiti. Some cases of mistreatment of prisoners
or excessive use of force by the new Haitian National Police Force
or the Interim Public Security Force were reported.

E. Freedom of expression, association and assembly

18. The right to freedom of expression, association and assembly
is exercised without hindrance by all sectors of Haitian society,
including the political opponents of President Aristide and his
Government.

19. The Haitian Constitution provides that "journalists shall
exercise their profession freely within the framework of the law".
The next step will be the promulgation of an act on freedom of
the press, which should provide a legal framework for regulating
the profession and making it accountable. After being gagged for
three years, journalists and the media are once again enjoying
full press freedom and no longer practise self­censorship.
Political parties are free to voice their opinions and opposition
parties can criticize the present Government's policy without
risk. Even the supporters of the former dictator, Jean­Claude
Duvalier, can express themselves freely.

20. The right to freedom of expression enjoyed by individuals
and the media is sometimes curbed in certain situations. For example,
in April 1995, legal proceedings were instituted against
a former judge for comments he made against President Aristide
and the leader of the Papaye peasant movement.

21. Journalists are concerned about the attitude of the State
media, which give priority to the Government's views in their
reporting. In July 1995, the Minister of Information and
Coordination seized 1,500 copies of the government newspaper,
L'Union, in which the editor­in­chief had written
a front­page editorial criticizing the Government for its
lack of support to the newspaper.

22. MICIVIH also expressed concern at the closure of Radiotélévision
de la Métropole du Sud on 10 June 1995, during
the election campaign. The owner of the station appeared before
a justice of the peace to answer to charges of "slander,
defamation, violation of the press laws and contempt of court".
Furthermore, finding that there had been administrative irregularities
in the registration of the station, the justice of the peace ordered
its closure. Since then, the station has resumed its operations
after meeting the administrative requirements.

23. Political organizations and groups have reorganized themselves.
Even the former Haitian soldiers have formed an association in
order better to defend their interests.

24. Several peaceful demonstrations were organized in September 1995
without any serious incidents. The demonstrators wanted to commemorate
a particular event, namely the fall of the military regime, remember
the victims of the military coup d'état of 1990
and of the subsequent military dictatorship, and the assassinations
of 30 September 1991, observe ongoing trials or put
forward various demands such as the payment of salaries and requests
for food and material assistance. Demonstrations have also been
held against President Aristide and the Government on the
issue of the privatization of public enterprises.

F. Arbitrary or illegal arrest and/or detention

25. Although cases of arbitrary arrest and detention have decreased
considerably as a result of the efforts made by the judicial authorities
and the police to abide by the procedural time­limits prescribed
by the law, some practices are still not in conformity with the
principles of law. We have identified the case of a prisoner who
is being held in the Saint­Marc prison without a warrant.

26. Sometimes the arrest warrants issued are questionable as to
substance and form. Arrests are not always ordered by the competent
judge, and arrest warrants do not always state the offences, the
date and place of commission, or the legal bases for the arrests.
Often, apart from cases of in flagrante delicto, people
are arrested and detained following a public denunciation without
any further evidence and without any preliminary investigation
being carried out. Sometimes, several people are detained on the
basis of a collective arrest warrant, which in legal terms, is
quite inconceivable.

27. Pre­trial detention is being used improperly, since the
legal time­limits have generally been exceeded. As a result,
the majority of those currently in detention have not yet been
tried or sentenced by the courts. Some do not even know why they
are being held. As of the beginning of September 1995, 1,504
out of a total of 1,703 detainees were still awaiting trial, while
sentences had been handed down in only 199 cases. Of the 112 female
detainees, 107 were still awaiting trial and only 5 had been sentenced.
The detention conditions remain extremely poor and the excessively
long detention periods recently prompted some detainees to instigate
prison riots.

G. Access to justice and procedural guarantees

28. Despite the difficulties involved, efforts have been made
to prosecute and bring to trial those responsible for human rights
violations in the past, including political killings. Most of
the military and paramilitary leaders left Haiti before or after
President Aristide returned. However, the amnesty granted by the
Haitian Parliament in October 1994 is not a general amnesty,
since it covers only acts against the State and not violations
of the human rights of civilians.

29. President Aristide has set up a number of complaints offices
to provide legal assistance to citizens wishing to file legal
complaints. In some cases, the complaints have resulted in warrants
being issued for the arrest of former members of the Haitian armed
forces. Unfortunately, this has yielded very few results,
either because the suspects have escaped or because the judges
do not want to hear cases involving former members of the
Haitian army or of paramilitary groups. None the less, former
Lieutenant­Colonel Michel François, who was Chief
of Police under Raoul Cedras, has been sentenced in absentia,
along with 16 other people, to life in prison with hard labour
for the murder of Antoine Izmery, a close associate of President
Aristide, on 11 September 1993. And on 25 August 1995,
Gerard Gustave, also known as Zimbabwe, received a life sentence
for his part in the murder.

30. A number of judges, especially those in the north of the country,
are very reluctant to try cases of past human rights violations
because they are afraid of the repercussions: they fear that as
soon as the multinational force leaves the country the military
will start carrying out reprisals. The threat of the military
coming back to settle old scores is paralysing the justice system.
Some witnesses are likewise reluctant to testify in public for
fear that they will subsequently be targeted by the military.

31. Preliminary investigations in criminal cases are being hampered
by lack of resources: police officers are not trained in scientific
investigation methods and the lack of staff and logistical resources
make it impossible to carry out a satisfactory investigation by
visiting the scene of the crime and gathering the necessary evidence.
The capacity of the Haitian State to conduct appropriate investigations
in cases involving violent death must be enhanced so as to make
it easier to protect the right to life, physical integrity and
security of person and prevent criminals from escaping punishment.

32. The judiciary came in for criticism following revelations
in the Haitian press, confirmed by the Minister of Justice, about
the release of a man called Marcel Morissaint, a suspect
in the murder of Minister of Justice Guy Malary. There was
a similar reaction when a justice of the peace cited "insufficient
evidence" as grounds for releasing 14 suspects in a
case involving a ship boarded in Bahamian waters which was found
to have about 450 Haitian boat people on board. When it left
Haiti, the ship had been carrying some 600 passengers. According
to survivors who were repatriated to Haiti, the missing 150 passengers
had been killed and thrown overboard. In fact, the justice of
the peace was later arrested, allegedly for taking money to release
the 14 suspects. This tragic case demonstrates the limitations
of the judicial system and the urgent need for new laws to safeguard
the independence of the judiciary.

33. The release of four people detained in the course of the preliminary
investigation of the murder of pro­putschist lawyer Mireille Durocher Bertin
is a further example of the difficulties the judicial system encounters
in seeking to shed light on complex cases. The Haitian authorities
recognize this problem and have recently asked experts in France
and Canada for help in handling inquiries, identifying suspects,
initiating proceedings and conducting a calm preliminary investigation
of cases of political murder. This is a welcome step in the effort
to prevent criminals from escaping punishment.

34. The various allegations against the Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA) during the three years of the military dictatorship should
be viewed with some caution. According to various sources, the
CIA seems to have played a double game vis­à­vis
the international community and the American Administration itself,
while the military junta was in power in Haiti. It reportedly
had many contacts with the Haitian army and with the former chief
of the paramilitary group the Front pour l'avancement et le
progrès Haïtien (FRAPH) Mr. Emmanuel Constant,
who is now in prison in Maryland, in the United States, for
breaking the immigration laws. He has also confirmed that he had
continual contacts with the CIA over that period. It will be remembered
that FRAPH terrorized the population of Haiti during the three
years of the military dictatorship.

35. These allegations, if true, would seriously compromise the
CIA. It seems important to raise the matter in this report, since
it shows the reverse of the medal and brings us face to face with
facts which sometimes elude us: over and above the efforts made
by the international community to restore democracy in Haiti,
we are now astounded to learn that there was another anti­democratic
move, allegedly headed by the CIA, to discredit President Aristide
and prevent him returning to Haiti.

36. Furthermore, the American Administration has agreed to return
to the present Government some 150,000 pages of documents seized
at FRAPH's headquarters in October 1994. However, the United
States first intends to screen these documents so as not to jeopardize
the security of its nationals and to prevent any old scores being
settled in Haiti as a result of the information in those documents.

1. Justice

37. The independent expert was impressed by the scope of the demonstrations
by the Haitian people demanding justice. But the question arises
whether a judicial system in such an advanced stage of decay can
respond to the needs of a people that has always regarded the
law as an instrument of oppression.

38. To all intents and purposes, the Haitian judicial system has
been at the service of the rich and has been discredited by its
own venality and inefficiency. The coup d'état of
30 September 1991 delivered its death blow. If one looks
at the way justice was administered, it is clear that, with a
few exceptions, judges acted within the limits imposed by the
dictatorship and failed in their duty to apply the law and defend
people's rights, particularly where political cases were concerned.
The judiciary had little or no real independence. Thus, it is
hardly surprising that Haitian groups have been calling for the
dismissal of many corrupt and incompetent justices of the peace
and government commissioners. Yet, it must be acknowledged that
many problems hamper the administration of justice in Haiti. The
independent expert was able to identify them by talking to members
of the judiciary, government bodies, non­governmental organizations,
MICIVIH and Haitian civilians and by examining the relevant laws
and regulations.

39. His findings confirm the conclusions reached by William G. O'Neill,
the United States legal expert and consultant to the National
Coalition for Haitian Refugees (NCHR), in his report entitled
No Greater Priority: Judicial Reform in Haiti. He says
that the Haitian judicial system is deficient in all respects:
it lacks resources, competent staff, independence, initiative
and integrity. The services it offers are a disgrace, with courts
being barely distinguishable from the small shops and houses in
Haitian towns and villages. Judges and government commissioners
("procureurs") are badly trained, are often chosen
on the basis of their connections or willingness to yield to the
demands of their patrons, and dispense "justice" to
the highest bidder or the person with the most power. MICIVIH
reached the same conclusions in its study of the Haitian judicial
system which contained recommendations for improving the administration
of justice in Haiti. The Minister of Justice, Mr. Jean Joseph Exumé,
summed up the situation as follows: "The Haitian judicial
system is an anachronism. The judicial structure must be patiently
rebuilt. The judicial system has to work and decisions must be
rendered within reasonable time-limits."

40. It is in this context that the Haitian Government, with the
support of the international community, is currently engaged in
a far-reaching programme of reform of the judicial system. The
programme has nine components, concerning respectively the judiciary,
prisons, the police, the updating of legal texts and codes, the
courts, officers of the court, legal documentation, helping citizens
gain access to justice, and civil registry.

41. Among the practical steps that have been taken, the independent
expert noted in particular the judicial training programme, the
first phase of which was held from 17 January to 29 April 1995.
The second phase began on 3 July 1995 with the opening
of the Ecole de la Magistrature, which will train judges and government
commissioners. Regrettably, the curriculum does not currently
include human rights courses, but assurances have been given that
such courses will be introduced in the near future and will also
become part of police officer training. Many judges, and in particular
many justices of the peace, have never been to law school and
earn a pittance, so the Government recently raised their salaries
to provide an additional incentive.

42. The independent expert learned a lot about the court equipment
problem when he visited the government commissioner in Port-au-Prince.
The typewriters dated from the 1950s, there were no photocopying
facilities, telephones had been disconnected for months, exercise
books were being used for record-keeping, and so on. Magistrates'
courts usually have no electricity and lack even the basic texts
(civil code, penal code and code of criminal investigation). Fortunately,
the Haitian Government is determined to remedy these shortcomings
and has begun setting up basic libraries, giving priority to the
magistrates' courts.

43. In any event, it is vital that legal texts and codes be updated
as quickly as possible. President Aristide signed a decree on
22 August 1995 on the organization of the judicial system.
The decree amends the Act of 18 September 1985 with
a view to adapting it to the requirements of the current judicial
reform process. The main purpose does not seem to have been achieved,
but at least the decree enables the judicial system to function
more effectively, by, for example, facilitating access to the
system and easing the pressure on courts of first instance. It
is to be hoped that the new Parliament will give high priority
to judicial reform, including the adoption of judiciary regulations
incorporating the Basic Principles on the Independence of the
Judiciary, as drawn up in 1985.

2. Prisons

44. The Haitian prison system deteriorated during the Duvalier
dictatorship. Despite some minor improvements since then, conditions
in Haiti's prisons remain well below the level required by the
Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, adopted
in 1955. Over 85 per cent of detainees are still
waiting for their cases to be heard. Some have not made a single
appearance before a judge since they were taken into custody:
in certain cases prisoners have been held for over a year without
knowing what they are charged with. Until recently, it was virtually
impossible to obtain an accurate list of those detained in the
national penitentiary in Port­au­Prince. Prisoners were
not fed properly and received no medical care. Some were tortured
by their jailers. As there was no detention centre for women,
female prisoners were sometimes subjected to sexual abuse. Minors
suffered greatly as a result of being crowded in together with
adults, in contravention of the Penal Code, which stipulates that
children under 16 years of age must be confined in a rehabilitation
centre.

45. The inhumane and cruel conditions in Haiti's prisons reflect
the conditions faced by the population at large, which has suffered
greatly in the absence of democracy and of the rule of law. The
Ministry of Justice is currently working to make the prisons more
humane. These efforts have been supported by the international
community, with UNDP taking the lead by launching a penal reform
assistance project in March 1995. A French expert has drawn
up a plan of action for prison reform over the short, medium and
long term. A national penitentiary administration has already
been set up and prison officers have been recruited and trained.
Infrastructure remains the biggest obstacle. Although much progress
has been made at the Gonaïves prison, the same cannot, unfortunately,
be said for the Saint­Marc prison, where conditions are extremely
primitive. The national penitentiary in Port­au­Prince
has a computerized system which allows better processing of prisoners'
cases. Work is under way there to set up an infirmary and provide
cells more humane than those existing at present, where 400 prisoners
sleep on the floor. Women and minors have been transferred to
the Fort National, where conditions are better. Prisons in the
interior of the country are still mixed, entailing the risk of
sexual abuse and violence.

46. It is encouraging that efforts have been made to recruit female
staff for all prisons. Minors being held at the Fort National
are mostly orphans or street children and have recently received
training in cutting out material for men's clothing and electrical
work. Literacy courses are also planned for those who do not know
how to read or write.

H. The National Commission of Truth and Justice

47. The preamble of the presidential decree of 28 March 1995 setting
up the National Commission of Truth and Justice (CNVJ) constitutes
a veritable key to understanding the commitment, reaffirmed by
President Aristide on the occasion of the commemoration of 30
September 1991, to put an end to the culture of impunity and to
respect the Haitian people's desire to make Haiti a State governed
by the rule of law. Indeed, only complete and public revelation
of the truth will make it possible to satisfy the basic requirements
of the principles of justice and create the conditions essential
to a genuine and effective process of transition and national
reconciliation.

48. The Commission has seven members, including three chosen in
close cooperation with the United Nations and the Organization
of American States (OAS). In accordance with article 21
of the presidential decree of 28 March 1995, the Commission's
mandate was extended by three months to 31 December 1995.
A further extension was granted to draft the final report, to
the President, who will make it public, by the end of January 1996
at the latest. It will then be for the President and the Government
to adopt the recommendations formulated by the Commission and
to carry out all the measures necessary for their implementation.

49. The Haitian authorities' commitment to ensuring that the Commission
is able to function independently and impartially and to discharge
its mandate

"to establish the whole truth with regard to the most serious
human rights violations committed between 29 September 1991 and
15 October 1994 within and outside the country and to promote
the reconciliation of all Haitians without prejudice to the judicial
proceedings which might result from such violations" is reflected
by the scale of the financial contribution those authorities made
to the Commission, which amounts to 13 million gourdes [US$ 1
= 19.4 gourdes]. It should be noted that this sum is more
than double the 5­million­gourde contribution announced
previously. The Commission has thus been able to carry out its
work since May 1995 as a result of funding from the Haitian
Treasury, as well as a grant of 1 million gourdes from the
Canadian Embassy in Haiti. The Commission had previously faced
grave difficulties due to the lack of adequate financial, human
and administrative resources. Since then, qualified staff and
international consultants have got down to work and are receiving
technical assistance from MICIVIH.

50. Within the investigative unit, special attention has been
given to the cases of women victims of politically motivated sexual
abuse. As to data collection, the Commission has received information
from MICIVIH, Amnesty International, Action by Christians for
the Abolition of Torture (ACAT), the Centre oecuménique
des droits de l'homme and other organizations. Some of the information,
including data gathered by the Plate-forme des organisations haïtiennes
des droits de l'homme and NCHR is now in the database. To increase
public awareness of its work, the Commission has produced several
radio programmes. It also organized a training session for investigators
and assistant investigators who were subsequently deployed throughout
the country to enable the population to lodge complaints. In the
Departments of the West and the Artibonite, complaints were still
being gathered because of the impressive number of individuals
wishing to give statements. It should be recalled that these two
departments were particularly affected during the period of the
coup d'état. According to Mrs. Françoise Boucard,
President of the Commission, the initial target of 5,000 statements
will certainly be reached and will probably be exceeded. During
our stay, the Commission had already begun in-depth investigations
and analysis of the information received. Obviously, the Commission
will not investigate in detail those persons already being prosecuted,
but it considers it to be its duty to mention them in its report.

51. In addition, it has commissioned the services of a legal anthropology
team set up with the help of the human rights section of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science. MICIVIH has provided
valuable assistance in connection with the identification of sites
where victims of human rights violations may have been buried
and also facilitated the mission of the legal anthropology team.
The team's discoveries and analyses will without doubt shed light
on the repression techniques used during the period of the coup
d'état and on the identity of the victims.

52. Since many victims of the repression had to leave the country,
the Commission has asked NCHR to coordinate information-gathering
in the United States. The Lawyers' Committee for Human Rights
has also offered its support. The President of the Commission
has stated that similar contacts have been established in other
countries which received Haitian refugees during the period of
the coup d'état. Thus, in September 1995 in Montreal,
for example, information-gathering was organized under the auspices
of the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development
and the Table de concertation pour les réfugiés.

53. Since September, the Commission has received many contributions,
notably from the Governments of Canada, Switzerland, the European
Union, United Nations Voluntary Funds, as well as private
charitable organizations. These contributions, together with a
pledge by the United Nations Centre for Human Rights to take
over the costs of an international commissioner, have been a great
help in covering the Commission's overheads. Nevertheless, this
financial share, paid in late, has led to difficulties in carrying
out the Commission's activities.

54. The work is important not only for Haiti but also for the
whole international community since it could have a positive influence
in other countries and help to prevent atrocities like those the
Haitian people have experienced. It must also be borne in mind
that the Commission's recommendations will be taken into consideration
and will help the judicial system to complete its work.

I. Women

55. During the period of the coup d'état, Haitian
women were targeted by military personnel and suffered greatly
as a result of political violence. The Government is taking measures
to try to rehabilitate women victims, through projects aimed at
psycho-social reintegration, legal reform and the drafting of
a text on political violence.

56. Although there have been no politically motivated acts of
violence against women since the return of President Aristide,
it must be pointed out, on the other hand, that domestic violence
remains a cause for concern.

57. The inter-agency Women and Development Committee of the United
Nations system in Haiti reports that, during the survey on AIDS
in Haiti, 29 per cent of female respondents stated that
their first sexual intercourse had been non­consensual. In
the course of the same survey, a partial list was compiled of
Creole expressions used by certain men to refer to sexual intercourse
and several of these clearly hint at relations characterized by
violence and brutality. This is a very painful part of the reality
of life for Haitian women. The expert's recommendation that the
Government should invite the Special Rapporteur of the Commission
on Human Rights on violence against women to visit Haiti has been
favourably received. The representative of the United Nations
Population Fund has even offered assistance in connection with
the Special Rapporteur's travel and stay.

J. Children

58. Early in 1995 Haiti ratified the Convention on the Rights
of the Child. At the start of the new school year, President Aristide
made a gift of school supplies to the children of Haiti, whose
education was in most cases adversely affected by the consequences
of the military regime. It must be recalled that there is almost
no public primary education, so that parents are forced to enrol
their children in private schools. However, the coup d'état,
the embargo and the economic and social situation left parents
unable to cover school fees. This situation convinced UNICEF to
pay for the schooling of more than 40,000 children.

59. UNICEF currently has a plan of action for Haiti containing
several equally important components which the Government of Haiti
would like to see applied as quickly as possible. In order to
improve child welfare, the relevant Haitian legislation must be
revised to reflect international standards. In this regard, the
independent expert recommends the drafting and adoption of a children's
legal code, the creation of children's courts, the inclusion of
the basic principles of the rights of the child in school curricula,
and the establishment of a national institution for the rights
of the child consisting of representatives of the Government and
of the public.

60. One major source of concern in Haiti is children who work
as servants. A survey carried out in 1993 by the Institut psycho-social
de la famille (IPSOFA) found that these child servants live in
distressing conditions. Domestic work, ("restavèk"
in Creole), means children whom their natural parents, often from
rural areas, place with more affluent families who generally live
in the towns, to relieve the burden of the cost of looking after
them and guarantee them a better life. This practice is so deep­rooted
in Haitian customs and culture that a law has been adopted on
it. Under the legislation in force, a child, in exchange for taking
part (on an unpaid basis) in a family's household work, receives
his board and lodging, an education and care. However, the so-called
host family, whose original role was to look after the child and
give him a good education, will exploit the child and use him
for all the menial domestic work. He or she will become a "slave"
of the house, because he is not a household "employee"
and will often have to do all the family's work in conditions
that are often distressing and humiliating: fetching drinking
water, cleaning the house, doing the shopping, preparing the meals,
looking after the members of the family, particularly the children.
In exchange for hard work, the child receives neither care nor
an education nor any affection. The child is merely ill­treated,
belittled, with no respect for his dignity or innocence. The child
is only entitled to eat the leftovers and usually sleeps on the
floor. It has been shown now that the physical, moral and emotional
suffering of the children is ignored. There appear to be at least
200,000 child servants living at the bottom half of the socio-economic
ladder.

61. Both boys and girls are exposed to a form of serfdom and work
without pay in inhuman conditions. Although this practice can
be explained by the abject poverty of the parents who place their
children in homes as servants, the necessary legislative and regulatory
steps should be taken as an urgent step to attack this evil and
to alleviate its effects until such time as the practice is abolished
for ever. Haitian society preserves this situation and fully recognizes
its existence. However, it should fight to protect children and
gradually eliminate this long­standing custom, which is tied
in with economic, social and cultural considerations and is unquestionably
harmful. All levels of society, both rich and poor, must be educated
and informed in order to make them aware of the problem.

K. Elections

62. The local, municipal and legislative elections of 25 June 1995
were marked by many irregularities which, in the opinion of the
OAS Electoral Observer Mission, did not affect the credibility,
transparency or validity of the vote. Although many diplomats
posted to Haiti agree with the OAS Observer Mission, the great
majority of the political parties do not. According to Mr. Turneb Delpé,
spokesman for the Front national pour le changement et la démocratie
(FNCD), the elections could not be free and democratic since the
Provisional Electoral Council was composed mostly of members who
were close supporters of President Aristide or of the parties
making up the presidential coalition, and the elections were marred
by massive fraud.

63. These allegations of fraud were not supported by evidence,
although the organization of the elections certainly left a great
deal to be desired because some members of the Provisional Electoral
Council proved to be incompetent when it came to managing an election.
Apparently that was why the President of the Council was replaced.
Another important point was the high turn-out rate of voters in
the first round, which involved 25 political parties and
some 10,000 candidates. On the other hand, the second round of
the legislative elections, on 17 September 1995, although
held without violence, had a turn-out of only 30 per cent
according to the Council, and 5 per cent according to
the opposition parties which boycotted the election. Referring
to these figures, the Secretary-General of the Council observed
that: participation in the second round of the 1995 legislative
elections had been much higher than in 1990. Observers of Haitian
society explain this low turn-out by the lack of civic information
and education in voting techniques. They feel that Haitians are
not used to a two-round election, and thus many thought that the
voting had ended on 25 June. We agree with this analysis,
which recalls similar situations in some African countries.

64. The presidential elections of 17 December 1995 went off smoothly.
This is because the voting had been carefully prepared. The Provisional
Electoral Council (CEP) distributed electoral material in time
and recruited thousands of people to form the electoral monitoring
unit, as it was their task to ensure that the elections were held
properly. Those who feared at one time that criminal attacks might
be made during the last days of the campaign have been reassured.
However, the well­organized elections and the climate of
safety did not bring out the population to vote. This is due in
part to the fact that, during the electoral campaign, President Aristide
adopted an ambiguous attitude towards René Préval,
the candidate of the Lavalas Presidential Party. He proved to
be more than reticent during the electoral campaign and only at
a very late stage did he support René Préval.
Nor did he urge the population to follow his choice or encourage
a large turnout. This behaviour did a great deal to discourage
the electorate at large. Nevertheless, René Préval
clearly came out ahead, for with a very low 28 per cent
turnout, he was elected with almost 88 per cent of the
votes.

65. It is not the fear of violence that deterred people from voting,
but the lack of enthusiasm and motivation aroused by the general
election. Some people consider that the very low turn­out
represents a sort of protest against the departure of President Aristide.
His followers would certainly have wanted his term extended by
three years. It is plain that, at the present time, President Aristide
enjoys extraordinary popularity in his country: he represents
a man who has brought hope back to the people of Haiti and started
to restore democracy and the rule of law after the humiliations
and the human rights violations committed during the three years
of dictatorship. Accordingly, the desire of Haitians to see President
Aristide in office for three more years is understandable. The
independent expert none the less takes the view that, despite
the man's worth and despite the de facto, but not the de jure
circumstances that warranted an extended term of office, President Aristide
made the right choice in deciding not to delay his departure and
to abide by the letter of the provisions of the Constitution.

66. Although the international community considers that the people
voted calmly and quietly, Mr. Léon Jeune, the
independent candidate for president, has publicly contested the
results, claiming irregularities in the organization of the ballot
and demanding that it be declared null and void.

67. The presidential election in December 1995 will, for the first
time in Haiti's history, permit a transfer of power between two
democratically elected presidents. René Préval
is close to President Aristide and regards himself as his
spiritual and political heir. The transfer of power on 7 February 1996
therefore reflects a continuation of the efforts to rebuild Haitian
society that have already been made by the Government in office.

L. Economic, social and cultural rights

68. The World Conference on Human Rights, held in Vienna in 1993,
solemnly reaffirmed that civil, political, economic, social and
cultural rights are indivisible, interdependent and universal.
Effective realization of economic, social and cultural rights
is of vital importance for the well­being of peoples. However,
these rights are not at the present time specifically applied
in Haiti, and this considerably undermines the exercise of all
human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as the country's
economic and social development. Recognition of economic, social
and cultural rights in this country takes on special importance
in that the population is learning again to live in a serious
economic and social crisis. Social inequalities and abject poverty
are sapping the foundations of Haitian society.

69. Haiti is the poorest country in the Americas and one of the
poorest in the world. Living conditions are deplorable. The de facto
regime has destroyed the country: basic infrastructures have deteriorated;
unemployment is high; internal displacement of the population
and refugees have aggravated problems of poverty and economic
difficulties. Access to water and electricity is not guaranteed
for all of the population: drinking water is scarce and, very
often, women and children in rural areas must walk several hours
to obtain it; Electricité d'Haiti (EDH) is not satisfactory
as a public service and power outages are frequent.

70. Conditions of hygiene are execrable. As far as health is concerned,
equipment and medicines are in short supply and the sector is
still largely in private hands. Women and children are the first
to suffer from malnutrition. Mortality rates among children and
mothers are very high, that for mothers being one of the highest
in the world.

71. Education is one of the sectors that has been most seriously
affected in the hemisphere. Haiti has the lowest school attendance
and literacy rates in the Americas. Girls are under-represented
in school. Education is in the hands of the private sector, which
does not make for the spread of education to the poorest groups.
Education in private schools is not subject to regulations; the
teachers are often unqualified, and the classes are overcrowded
and have poor facilities. Families that want an education for
their children must bear the cost of enrolment, school books (or
university texts), and pupils' uniforms. In such circumstances,
it is clear that schools are beyond the means of the majority
of Haitian families.

72. Furthermore, privatization projects highlight the difficulties
involved in executing them. The negotiation of a structural adjustment
programme with IMF and the substantial financial aid promised
by the United States administration are contingent upon such privatization.
The effect of this situation is to place considerable constraints
on possible action by the Government, which is dependent on aid
that is blocked until controversial privatization projects are
carried out. Moreover, the uncertainty produced by the privatization
issue led to devaluation of the gourde, the national currency,
in November 1995, and as a result made already galloping
inflation even worse. An urgent economic recovery programme was
adopted in January 1995 with a view to concerted action in
the humanitarian assistance and development sectors. This programme
is financed largely by international donors.

73. In the present situation, the Haitian Government is incapable
of guaranteeing the slightest enjoyment of economic, social and
cultural rights. For this reason René Preval intends, when
he takes office, to accord priority to the struggle against abject
poverty and to the task of reducing the gap between social classes.
Indeed, a country's economic and social development goes hand
in hand with the implementation of democratic and judicial reforms.
The new President intends to bring in a Government that is lawful,
reliable and honest and acts openly, for corruption in State institutions
is one of the major obstacles to a society's social and economic
advancement. And, as far as the privatizations are concerned,
his intention is to take a pragmatic look at the question of public
enterprises and to act in accordance with the interest of the
Haitian people.

74. Haiti must improve its ability to act, in both the social
and economic spheres, if it is to avoid sinking still further
than it has. It is a difficult challenge, but one that should
be taken up by a country which has already suffered a great deal
and which knows only too well the cost of freedom.

II. CONCLUSIONS

75. The situation of human rights in haiti has improved considerably
since President Aristide returned in October 1994. However, the
common crime rate has skyrocketed, although the situation has
improved somewhat over the past few months thanks to the presence
of UNMIH.

76. A number of murders labelled as common crimes - despite the
fact that they did not fit this description - were committed during
this period; in reality it would appear that they were committed
for political reasons. Moreover, the fact that the Haitian police
lack both the technical knowledge and equipment is hampering the
effective investigation of most of these killings.

77. Pre-trial detention is the rule rather than the exception,
contributing to overcrowding in the prisons, where 85 per cent
of the inmates are awaiting trial. There is a real desire to prosecute
those responsible for violating human rights but it tends to be
thwarted by the inefficiency of the judicial system and the fact
that some judges are afraid to prosecute former members of the
military.

78. The Haitian judicial system is out of date and needs in-depth
reform. However, steps have been taken as a matter of urgency
to ensure a minimum level of efficiency both in the courts and
in the prisons.

79. The National Commission of Truth and Justice has already achieved
remarkable results in spite of the difficult conditions in which
it had to work. The report to be submitted to the President before
the end of January should be carefully followed up by the Government.

80. Laudable efforts are under way to rehabilitate Haitian women
who, although no longer victims of political violence, still suffer
from domestic violence.

81. The elections of 25 June 1995 were marked by many irregularities
which do not, for all that, place their credibility in doubt.
Nevertheless, efforts were made to ensure that the presidential
elections were open and above board. It has to be acknowledged
that the presidential elections of 17 December 1995 were held
without disturbances, unlike the general elections in June. On voting
day, no incident was recorded other than a clash south of Port­au­Prince
in which several shots were fired at a MINUHA vehicle, but there
were no victims. The independent expert's recommendations to the
General Assembly of the United Nations in November 1995
and the effective work done by the Interim Electoral Council set
up for that purpose certainly made a large contribution to proper
organization of the voting, which was done calmly and openly.

82. The situation in Haiti is fraught with danger because of deplorable
economic and social conditions. The support of the international
community and greater understanding on the part of the Bretton
Woods institutions would help to defuse the situation.

III. RECOMMENDATIONS

83. The independent expert recommends:

(a) That political killings, include that of Mrs. Mireille

Durocher Bertin, should be thoroughly investigated with the cooperation
of French and Canadian experts and that those responsible should
be prosecuted and brought to trial. If they have fled, international
arrest warrants should be issued and Haiti should request their
extradition so that they can be tried before an impartial, independent
Haitian court;

(b) That measures should be taken as a matter of urgency to reduce
overcrowding in the prisons. Judges from countries following the
French legal tradition could be sent to Haiti to work with Haitian
judges to help them conduct the triage of cases and issue verdicts
on the least serious offences whose perpetrators are being held
pending trial;

(c) That the recommendations of the National Commission of Truth
and Justice should be implemented by the Haitian Government with
the support of the international community;

(d) That the Commission's Special Rapporteur on violence against
women should accept the invitation of the Haitian Government,
with the support of the United Nations Population Fund, to visit
Haiti;

(e) That support for the ongoing process of judicial reform should
be given priority within the framework of bilateral and multilateral
assistance;

(f) That the aptitude and independence of the government commissioners
appointed by the illegal governments should be evaluated and the
requisite measures should be taken, including possible dismissal,
and in conformity with the applicable rules.

(g) That retraining sessions for judges and government commissioners
should be organized, calling upon experienced Haitian judges and
lawyers and upon lawyers and judges from countries following the
French legal tradition; if possible, they should speak Creole;

(h) That instruction in international human rights law should
be added to the curricula of the Ecole de la Magistrature and
the Police Academy;

(i) That a programme of rural legal services should be developed
in cooperation with Haitian human rights organizations in order
to train paralegals;

(j) That the Code of Criminal Investigation should be revised
without delay with a view to speeding up proceedings while guaranteeing
respect for human rights, particularly the right to a defence;

(k) That the Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary
should be incorporated in the future judiciary regulations. Similarly,
the law concerning the legal profession should take into account
the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers adopted in 1990 ;

(l) That an institution of the ombudsman type and a national committee
on the rights of the child, in which civilian society would be
represented, should be established;

(m) The employment of children as servants is a major concern
and efforts must be made to bring approximately 200,000 children
out of the distressing conditions in which they are living;

(n) The brigades de vigilance should be suitably trained
to prevent their members from meting out summary justice, and
they should be done away with as and when the Haitian national
police is in a position to perform its duties fully and effectively;

(o) That the UNMIH civil police should remain in Haiti with a
maximum of 300 police officers for a minimum period of five years.
It will assist in the on­site training of members of the
Haitian National Police in police techniques, fact-finding, administration
and other subjects. It must be remembered that the Haitian National
Police is a young police force which, as yet, lacks experience
and credibility;

(p) That the mandate of the International Civilian Mission in
Haiti (MICIVIH) should be extended. Even if its staff must be
reduced by one third, its presence in Haiti will help to strengthen
the technical capacity of governmental and non­governmental
Haitian entities in the area of human rights. MICIVIH will also
continue to assist the Haitian authorities in identifying gaps
and flaws in the judicial system and to participate in the continued
training of government commissioners and other magistrates. It
could take in hand the programme for human rights instruction
at both the Ecole de la Magistrature and the Police Academy;

(q) The technical cooperation programme with the Haitian Government
prepared by the Centre for Human Rights to strengthen the ability
of State bodies to act in the field of human rights should be
supported. This programme should lay emphasis on advisory services
in legislative reform, the training of persons employed in the
administration of justice, and human rights education to assist
young people and vulnerable groups;

(r) To enable the people of Haiti to find their bearings and to
understand and accept reconciliation, the United States should
help to shed light on past events by returning the documents seized
from FRAPH's headquarters, revealing clearly where the responsibility
lies in each case, and indicating the truth and the lies in the
allegations concerning the CIA's implication in those events.
Today, the United States, because it played a major part in the
process of Haiti's return to democracy, should be frank towards
the people of Haiti, which is seeking to recover its dignity and
to understand what actually happened and so give its own pardons.
The rumours of the CIA's murky role simply fuel ill-contained
anger and do not foster reconciliation among Haitians. The search
for truth, indeed, has a reassuring effect and constitutes the
first step towards forgiveness;

(s) That the technical assistance activities of MICIVIH and the
Centre for Human Rights should be coordinated so that the Centre
can efficiently take over after the final departure of MICIVIH;

(t) That a MICIVIH military presence should be maintained after
29 February 1996 as a deterrent. Many fear a resurgence
of political violence after a mass departure of the soldiers deployed
under United Nations auspices. Certain forces opposed to democracy
and human rights seem to have gone underground, armed, and may
one day emerge from the shadows to engage in subversive activities;

(u) That greater support should be provided to the programmes
for reintegration into civilian life which the International Organization
for Migration has set up for former soldiers who have not been
incorporated into the new police force.